January is by far my favorite month to shop because I can find amazing clearance deals at almost any store.   I thought I would share a few of my favorite sales that I look forward to each and every January.   I’d love to hear what sales you look forward to in January too!

Target Christmas & General Clearance

I love, love, love me some Target clearance shopping (you probably already knew that though, huh?).    January is such a great month for clearance at Target because they are cleaning out so many of the winter and Christmas items to make way for the new items that come in for Spring.  You will find clearance deals in pretty much every single department.   I have highlighted  just a few of the departments that have big markdowns in January over at All Things Target.

My all-time favorite clearance sale is when Target marks their Christmas items down to 90% off.    There is a good chance that the 90% off markdown will be happening Saturday, January 4th this year.

You can’t forget the BIG Target Toy Clearance that happens in January every year.   If you haven’t heard about this great clearance sale, you can find everything you need to know if the following posts:

• 70% off Target Toy Clearance (January & July)
• Getting ready for the 70% off toys clearance
• Tips for shopping the day of the 70% off toy sale
• See what my husband was able to pick up at the clearance last January

Walmart 75% off Christmas Clearance

Another Christmas clearance sale I love to shop is when Walmart marks down their Christmas items to 75% off.    One of the reasons I love this sale, because they also include many of their bath and body sets as part of the clearance.   My daughter and I like to shop for make-up bags, lip balms and bath & body gift sets that she can give to her friends for their birthdays.

You can view the items we picked up last year at the 75% off Walmart Christmas clearance to get an idea of the items you may find. Last year the markdown took place around January 3rd and 4th, so hopefully we will see the markdown take place soon. I will be sure to let you know when it happens.

Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale

The Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual sale is already in full swing, it usually starts right after Christmas and runs for a couple of week. Generally, I like to shop the sale later rather than sooner and that is because they usually release better coupons towards the end of the sale.

For example, when the sale first started, they had released a $10 off $40 coupon. They tend to release a $10 off $30 coupon later during the sale. In fact, they just released a $10 off $30 coupon, so now would be a great time to shop this sale.

Barnes & Noble Clearance

I love book stores, I could spend hours just browsing at all the books, games and more. Usually right after Christmas Barnes & Noble will mark down Christmas books, calendars, some toys, games and puzzles down to 50% off. A little later these items get marked down to 75% off. Last year, they went all crazy and marked down many of these items to only $2. Seriously…only $2.

I was able to score so many amazing deals last year, I even picked up a couple of Elf on the Shelf sets for only $2. I am hoping the same awesome markdown happens this year too. Make sure you check out what I was able to score last year at the Barnes & Noble Clearance HERE and HERE. The $2 markdown took place around the very end of January.

Yankee Candle 75% off Clearance

I stumbled upon the Yankee Candle clearance sale one year and I have been shopping it every year.    My favorite part of this sale is the gift sets, they mark them all down to 50% off right after Christmas and then eventually they all get marked down to 75% off.

The 75% off markdown usually happens in the middle of January.    I love that when shopping online they have a flat shipping fee of only $5, since many of the candles are heavy and expensive to ship I consider their shipping fee an excellent deal.

The post My Favorite January Clearance Sales appeared first on Gather Lemons.

I don’t know about you, but I always think more about my energy bill in the winter months when we spend so much more to heat our house.

If you live in one of the following states: Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Texas you can save money on your energy bill by visiting ChooseEnergy.com.

Choose Energy is an easy-to-use online marketplace that helps residents and businesses comparison-shop for their ideal energy supplier. Powered by a friendly customer service team and an accessible, user-friendly site, Choose Energy is a free online platform that provides a convenient and secure way for consumers to compare rates and plans for energy suppliers in their area – and make the switch all in one place.

Here’s how it works, head over to ChooseEnergy.com, type in your zip code and find an energy solution that fits your budget from the best suppliers in your area. You will be able to save up to 25 percent just by switching your energy provider. The best part, ChooseEnergy.com will make the switch for you!

The shop and switch process takes less than ten minutes and is done entirely through the Choose Energy website – making it a seamless and secure one-stop destination to read reviews, compare plans and switch suppliers. I personally love being able to do everything online, no waiting on hold. You can make the decisions in your own time.

Need more of an incentive to make the switch?   How about up to a $350 incentive!   A lucky Thrifty and Thriving reader will win 3 months of electricity for FREE.

How to enter the giveaway: Head on over to ChooseEnergy.com and find a provider that fits your needs and you could win three months of free electricity from Choose Energy (up to $350).

Winners will receive a Visa gift card in the amount of $350. Winners will be selected by Jan. 30, 2014. Gift cards will be awarded by Feb.17, 2014. 

 This was a sponsored post, I was compensated for my time in sharing this information with you.    All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The post Choose Energy: Save Money on your Energy Bill & Win $350 toward your Energy Bill appeared first on Gather Lemons.

ThreeJars.com is offering a FREE lifetime membership for your kids when you sign up by March 31, 2012.

ThreeJars makes money management fun and easy for 5 to 13 year old kids and parents. Kids learn to manage “money”through saving, spending, and charitable giving jars – with guidance from Mom and Dad.

The post FREE Lifetime Membership to ThreeJars.com (Kids learn to Save, Spend & Share) appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Before I share my review of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, I am going to share with you how I came across Crystal’s website, Money Saving Mom.

It was about 4 years ago when I was reading a friends blog, she shared a link on her blog for a photographer that she used.  I am a fan of great photos, so I started reading her blog for awhile, when one day she mentioned that she was a secret stockpiler.  I was so excited, to find somebody else that shopped like me!!  I have always shopped by combining sale prices and coupons, but I didn’t know of many other people that shopped like me.  I was thrilled to find somebody else that shared my love for a great deal at the grocery store.  In her blog post, she mentioned a blog that she read to find out about all the good deals at the grocery store, which just happened to be Money Saving Mom.  Now, I was even happier, I found 2 people that liked to shop like me and one blogged about it on a daily basis – LOVE!!

So, I started reading Money Saving Mom on a regular basis.  I was so impressed with Crystal’s discipline regarding money.  I had been reading her blog for several months before I clicked on her “about me” tab.  I was amazed to find out that all the money and shopping advice was coming from a young women in her 20’s!!  I was taken aback, Crystal seemed so wise I figured she had to be older (at least older than me!!).  Don’t let her age fool you, she definately has a great handle on how to spend, save money and live frugally.

Here are my thoughts are her soon to be released book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget:

The book starts out by outlining 7 Rules for Financial Success:

1. Set Big Goals (Break them down into bite-sized pieces)
2. Streamline your life and cute the clutter
3. Set up a realistic, workable budget
4. Take the cash-only challenge
5. Use coupons
6. Never pay retail
7. Choose contentment

As a person that has been frugal most of her life (my parents taught me well), I wasn’t sure there was going to be anything new or earth shattering that I would learn from this book.   However, I found lots of great insights in this book.   I found some new ways I could lower my expenses so I could have even more money each month.   I really enjoyed the chapter about controlling clutter, and I am motivated to get areas of our house in order.   I am sure getting organized will save me my sanity and money!   I think the most important think I took away from the book is to never underestimate the power of setting goals.   It is setting goals that will help you achieve your financial (and other) goals.

My husband and I have some big financial goals this year, and I plan to use several of Crystal’s suggestions in the book to help us implement and achieve our goals.   With the start of the new year, everybody is looking to make changes.   If you need to make changes in your life that revolve around your finances, I would recommend this book to help you get your financial life in order.

Not only is Crystal a frugal minded person, she is also very generous, all the proceeds from her book are going to Compassionate International.  So, head on over and pre-order your copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, it will be released on January 10th 2012.

I received an advanced copy of this book to facilitate my review, no compensation has been given. The thoughts I share, are my own.

The post Book Review: The Money Saving Mom’s Budget appeared first on Gather Lemons.

One of the biggest ways I save money is by buying items ahead of time while they are on sale, usually for 75% off or more.  I do it with groceries, clothing, toys and gifts.  Since, the Target Toy Clearance will be starting soon, it makes for a great opportunity to start a gift closet.   I am sharing some of the benefits I have found by shopping ahead of time for toys and gifts.

Saves Money

One of the biggest reasons to shop ahead of time, is that it can save you money.  I have 4 boys, and ALL of them have been HUGE Lego fans.  If I went out and paid full price (or even a sale price) for a Lego set I would be spending a ton of money on Lego’s.  I have been able to find Lego sets for 75% off, so I am able to spend LESS money on their birthday and Christmas gifts.

An important point to make here, is that just because you bought something on sale, it doesn’t mean you have to buy more. Some people have the mindset that they “have” to spend a certain amount of money on a gift.  If you buy more, you aren’t really saving any money, you are just getting more.  Kids don’t really need more!  I prefer to give them a nice quality gift and stick with that. We actually only give our children one gift for Christmas. Yes, you read that right, just ONE GIFT from Mom and Dad!  They also get a gift delivered from Santa, and a gift from each of their siblings too, so they end up with more than one gift on Christmas morning.

By purchasing items ahead of time, it saves me money that I can use on other important things, like family vacations, groceries, charitable donations, and even super fun stuff like braces for my children.

Saves Time

If you do clearance shopping every time you head to the store, you are bound to find some great deals sooner or later.   When you have a stockpile of gifts at home, you won’t have to run to the store every time your child get’s invited to a birthday party.   It’s quicker and easier to run out to the garage to grab an item than it is to run to the store searching for a gift.

This also is a huge time saver at Christmas time!  With the majority of my Christmas shopping done I can spend more quality time with my family enjoying the things that Christmas is really all about.  I don’t have to spend the majority of the Christmas season running around trying to find the perfect gift.

Allows for Generosity

I have fond memories of going to the mall with my Mom at Christmas time and choosing a name off  “The Giving Tree”.  Both my sister and I would get to choose the item for the children that we selected.   We did this every year!  I still remember the item I bought when I finally purchased my first Giving Tree item with my very own money – it was a Cabbage Patch doll!

I wanted to do the same thing with my children that my Mom did with me and my sister.   Money was a lot tighter during our first years of marriage, but I still thought it was important to teach our children to be generous.  So, I did same thing that my Mom did with The Giving Tree, only I did it in reverse.  I would purchase items at 75% off and save them in a bin at home.  When Christmas would come around, me and the kids would see what toys we had and then go find a name on the tree that would be a great match for the gifts we had at home.

At the end of the year, I also like to go through the gift closet and anything that I don’t already have plans for can be donated to Toys for Toys or given to a family in need.   Shopping this way has allowed our family to be more generous than we would be able to if we just bought the gifts when they were needed.

Helps Others

My family knows that if they ever need a gift for a birthday, they can come to me.  My sister has 3 kids, both her and her husband have their own businesses, so there is not a lot of time left in her schedule for gift shopping.   She can call me up and let me know what type of party she is going to, and I can usually help her with a gift that I have bought previously.   Plus, it is usually 75% of the cost she would have paid at the store!  If you have the time, money and space to create a gift closet, let it work for others too!  Everyone loves to save a little time and money.

Tips for buying ahead:

• NEVER go in to debt to purchase gifts ahead of time (or anytime)!   You aren’t saving money if you are incurring interest charges.
• Make sure the item is worth the money. Just because an item is 75% off, it doesn’t automatically make it a great deal. I always check reviews on Amazon, if something I bought didn’t get great reviews, I return it.
• Stay away from “themed” merchandise that may only be around for a year or less. I am not talking about classic items, like Star Wars, or Sesame Street.  When you have a gift closet, things may stay there awhile before you have the chance to give them to someone. Find items that will be popular gifts at any time.
• Buy the classics like Lego’s, Playmobil, or other brands you personally love.
• Make sure you have the room to store the gifts. I now have a closet in my garage, but I have previously kept the gifts in a Rubbermaid storage tote.
• Make a list of what you have.  It’s so easy to forget that you already bought a gift for your someone, and you end up buying another.
• Set a price point for yourself.  For instance if I am buying ahead, I always aim for items that are 75% off.  I will go 50% off for certain Lego’s, but I never pay more than that.  I always know that if I miss out on one thing, another great deal will always come around.

Let’s hear your thoughts on buying ahead of time and having a gift closet.   I’d love to hear if you do the same thing, where you store your items, or let us about your favorite find.

The post Benefits of Shopping Ahead and Having a Gift Closet appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Think about the things you use paper towels for, I am guessing you use them to wipe up spills and clean your windows. You probably already have things in your home that will do these jobs.

Old Towels: I keep around some old kitchen towels for wiping up messes. I have also cut up an old bath towel into several smaller rags.

Washing Windows: The thing that works best for washing windows and glass furniture is newspapers. Trust me on this one! Since most of us are couponers, we probably have lots of newspapers laying around anyway. When you use newspapers to clean, your windows will be streak-free and you won’t find any of the lint that paper towels leave behind.

Napkins: Do you like to use paper towels in place of napkins? I recommend going with cloth napkins. Not only will you be saving money, but you will be saving our natural resources too. You can possibly save even more money by making your own cloth napkins with the instruction found over at Skip to My Lou.

Let’s hear your thoughts.  Do you think you could survive without paper towels?  I haven’t purchased paper towels in over 10 years and I don’t miss them one bit.

The post Want to Save BIG Money on Paper Towels? appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Think back to when you were young, do you remember any of your birthday presents? Chances are you may remember one or two, but if you think about those gifts, they are probably memorable because of the emotion attached to them.  The only one that sticks out in my mind is a Snoopy radio I received from my parents.  I loved that thing!  It had terrible reception and a tiny speaker, but I loved it because I loved Snoopy, and my parents knew that I loved Snoopy.  The radio was probably a cheap radio, but if I had received a sophisticated high-end radio with ten times the features and superior quality, I doubt it would have meant as much, or even have been remembered.

When I think about my birthdays as a child, the things I remember the most, are not the gifts that were given to me, but the things my parents did for me.  My strongest memories are attached to experiences that evoked the strongest emotions.  Things that made me feel loved, things that often didn’t require any money at all, are the things that have been warmly preserved in the cherished corners of my mind…and heart.

One of my fondest birthday memories is from my dad.  He created a “Today is Christine’s Birthday” sign, and he would put it out in our front yard on every single one of my birthdays. Every birthday, I would get my photo taken by my sign.  It made me feel special.

As I grew older, and became a teenager, I became a little less enthusiastic about the ritual, but even those years created important memories that I look back on with sincere fondness.  I remember one year being embarrassed of the “Today is Christine’s Birthday” sign that my dad would put in our yard.  Flexing my “independent teenager” muscle, I decided I would hide the sign before my 16^th birthday so it couldn’t be displayed in the yard to announce to the whole neighborhood that it was my birthday.  I can still recall how my dad looked as he searched everywhere for that sign.

As it turns out, I didn’t hide it well enough, because he eventually found it.  I pleaded with him, “Please Dad! Don’t put it out in the front yard”.  In what I momentarily thought was a very tender gesture, my dad agreed that he wouldn’t put the birthday sign in the yard… instead he marched up and down the street holding the sign and shouting “Today is Christine’s Birthday”!

As mortified as I was as a teenager, I am so glad my Dad took the time to make that sign and share with everyone that it was his daughter’s birthday.  As I reflect on those birthdays today, I recognize, even more than I did back then, how much my dad loved me and how much he wanted to show the world that he was proud to have me as his daughter.

In addition to the annual “Birthday Sign” from my dad, I hold very dear birthday memories from my mom as well.  Every year on my birthday, I would always wake up to a bud vase set next to my bed.  My mom would cut some simple flowers from our garden and position them carefully alongside a written note that read “Happy Birthday Chris”. This was such a simple gesture, but it happened every birthday.  I can still remember the soft scent of the flowers that were left each year letting me know that I was loved.

Every year, for my daughter’s birthday, I  follow the wise example of my parents and focus more on some simple experiences, like those that created such a warm tapestry of childhood memories for me.  I want to help create anchoring experiences born from simple, sincere, acts of love that will hopefully evoke emotional recollections of years gone by.  This year, my daughter woke up to this:

I am not advocating that all gifts must be banished for birthdays, or that every present must be handmade or grown in a garden.  But in today’s world where there are so many materialistic messages that persuade us to focus on “stuff”, to spend money to get the shiniest toy or the most expensive trendy trinket, it is important to stop and ask ourselves if we are giving the most important gifts; the gift of love, the gift of time, the gift of a home that is a refuge from the pressures of the world. These are the true treasures of life, treasures that will forge memories for the future, allowing us to remember the simpler days of our youth.

I think when my daughter is older she probably won’t remember the things she got on her birthday.  Instead I hope she will remember the flowers she woke up to and the way it made her feel, a reminder that she was loved.  Perhaps on a distant day, when life get’s somewhat stormy, these memories will provide a saving souvenir that in life, sometimes we need to do more than just “stop and smell the flowers”, sometimes we need to “wake and smell the flowers”.

Written by me, and then re-written by my husband, so it sounds good!  Thanks Steve!

UPDATE: I received a gift from my Dad last Christmas, he was so excited for me to open it. Look what was inside:

He gave me the exact same Snoopy radio I adored as a child. How sweet is that? He had to do a lot of searching, but he finally found one. It makes me smile every time I see it.   Yep, my Dad is a pretty wonderful guy!

The post Thoughts & Memories of Simple Gift Giving (repost) appeared first on Gather Lemons.

I picked up my first stocking stuffer for Christmas 2011, while I was out running some errands last night.   I picked up this 2-pack of fuzzy slipper socks at Kohls for only $2.40, they were 80% off.   I will throw these in a bin in my garage, where they will wait until December, when they will be added to my daughter’s Christmas stocking.

I know I have said this several times already, but one of the biggest ways I can save my family money is by buying items before I need them, when they are deeply discounted. I will pick up clearance items at 75-90% off and save them for when they are needed.   Not only does this save me money, but it saves a lot of time too.   When Christmas rolls around, I should have the majority of the stocking stuffers already purchased, so I can spend more time enjoying the holiday.

Anybody else have some stocking stuffers already?   I am sure I am not alone!

The post Just Bought my first Stocking Stuffer for Christmas 2011 appeared first on Gather Lemons.

Every year Molen Orthodontics offers to buy back your kids Halloween candy.   This year the buy back will take place on Monday, November 1st from 2:30 – 6:30 pm. They will pay $2 per pound (up to 10 lbs) – that is up to $20 bucks!!

Here are all the details:

• Bring in your wrapped Halloween candy and in exchange they will pay $2 per lb (up to 10 lbs)
• Free milk and cookies for everyone
• All Trick or Treaters are welcome to participate
• All Candy and Canned food will be donated to a charitable org.
• Earn an extra $1 if you wear your costume
• Earn an extra $1 in you bring a min of 2 canned items to donate
• Earn 10 Molen Moolah for turning in your candy

Here are their locations:

• Auburn
• Sumner
• Enumclaw

You can read all about the Molen Orthodontics Buy Back event and get the addresses to their locations HERE.

Please leave a comment if you know of another business that participates in a candy buy back event.

The post Molen Orthodontics: Halloween Candy Buy Back (11/1) appeared first on Gather Lemons.

We went to the garage and grabbed the bins, I have a separate bin for each child. All of the clothes in the bins are items that I bought at the end of the season last year. I went through each bin and took out the items that would fit my kids this summer.

These are the items I had for my youngest son, he already has several other short sleeve shirts and swim trunks, so I won’t need to get him anything else for summer. All of these items were at least 75% off. The sandals were “hand-me-downs” from my nephew. Hand-me-downs are another great way to save lots of money on clothing.

The benefit to shopping ahead of time, means you can buy clothing when it is marked down and it saves you from having to pay full price for your clothing. I have a rule that anything I buy ahead of time has to be at least 75% off. Lots of the items I buy ahead are actually 90% off. That is a huge savings on the clothing budget.

I would love to hear what you do to save yourself money on clothing.

The post We Went Shopping for Summer Clothes – In our Garage! appeared first on Gather Lemons.

When most people think of the word frugal or thrifty, they instantly think we’re paupers who have to live with less. That is SO not true. You can still live your life frugally and have everything you’ve ever wanted. I want to show that anybody and everybody can be frugal, just by slightly changing their everyday decisions and lifestyle. I love couponing, but I don’t really post about it too much. That is a whole other blog in and of it’s self. That’s what Christy’s for, right? Ha ha! I prefer to talk about the FUN frugal stuff.

Here are some example’s of what I’m talking about:

Have you ever wondered how to make your own liquid or dry laundry detergent. It’s amazing how much money you can save by making your own detergent. I have a family of four and I only paid around $6 dollars for a year supply of laundry detergent. I prefer making the liquid detergent, but it depends on what you like. I’ve got the recipes for both.

I love making my own household cleaners. Not because it’s green {except that is a bonus}, but because it’s easy and really cheap. Want to learn how to make your own Comet? You probably already have the ingredients in your house to make it. It’s safe to use around your children and pets too. I’ve got several household cleaner recipes, and I’ve got many more to come in the future.

I also love to share great Beauty Tips that anybody can afford! Learn how to make your own homemade bubble bath recipe for your kids, facials for yourself, footscrubs, and tons more! It’s amazing how many things you can use Olive Oil to make yourself more beautiful.

There’s no better feeling than trying to reuse or recycle something in your home to help stretch your dollar. For instance, what do you do with your old scentsy wax? Learn how to reuse the wax. I made my very own emergency candles by pouring out my used scentsy wax into old jars. These are great to have in your food storage for back up candles. They burn longer than your normal candles and sometimes, you can smell a small remainder of yummy goodness from them. Waste not, want not!

Here’s another trash and treasure awesomeness. Learn how to make a magazine organizer from a used cereal box. Decorate it with scrapbook paper and you’ve got a great organizational piece. Get creative and have fun! Make them for the bathroom, the living room, or even for a friend.

My oldest son, who’s 4, is such a picky eater it makes my teeth ache. So, over the years, I’ve had to become really tricky into making his food look fun. One of my all time favorite fun recipes is homemade edible playdough. I’ve got several more “picky eater” recipes, but I also have tons of regular “cheap” recipes that are great for the family budget.

I want to thank Christy for letting me guest post today. I love reading Christy’s blog everyday! Keep up the hard work! I know we all appreciate it.

I’ve only scratched the surface on the things that I do and can’t wait to share more with you. Come on over to My Frugal Lifestyle and join me in the fun! I can’t wait to meet you. If you stop by My Frugal Lifestyle, I’d love to hear from you! Give me a “Shout Out” or a “Hey!” Hope you have a Frugalistic Day!

The post Guest Post From My Frugal Lifestyle appeared first on Gather Lemons.